Slack-adjuster for clasp-brakes.



- W. H. SAUVAGEQ SLACK ADJUSTER FOB. CLASP BRAKES APPLICATION FILED MAY15, 1914.

Patented Jan. 12, 1915.

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f/VVE/VTOR 1411221 430. .1

A TTURNEVS W H. SAUVAGE.

SLACK ADJUSTER FOB. CLASP BRAKES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY15, 1914.

Patented J an. 12, 1915 Mai-: 1 M

W. H. SAUVAGE.

SLACK ADJUSTER FOR CLASP BRAKES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 15, 1914.

Patented Jan. 12, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

nvvavron BY L M ATTORNEYQ WITNESSES Z M- uJQw -Z Tilld A oFFieE.

SLACK'-ADJUSTER FOR CLASP-BRAKES.

ia-ears.

Application filed May 15, i914. Serial No. 838,684.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VILLIAM H. SAUVAGE, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of the borough of Manhattan of the city of New York, inthe State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Slack-Adjusters for Clasp-Brakes, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forminga part hereof,

This invention relates to slack adjusters for brake systems in which areemployed brakes of the clasp type, in which each wheel is provided withtwo oppositely acting brakes disposed at different points on itsperiphery.

The invention has for its object to improve generally brake systems ofthe character referred to and particularly to provide such a brakesystem-with automatic slack take-up devices which shall be comparativelysimple in construction, eflicientin operation and readily adjustableeither auto- -matically or manually to suit varying conditions of use.

A further object of the invention is to construct a slack adjustersystem of the type referred to above in which the usual hangers for oneset ,of brake shoes maybe utilized in a dual capacity and function asdead levers. In accordance with such construction the take-up devicesmay be so mounted with respect to these hangers as to cooperate directlytherewith and function from time to time to compensate for the slackoccurring in the rigging.

In addition to the improvements indicated above, this invention seeksfurther to provide in a brake system embodying clasp brakes, adjustingrods interposed operatively between the opposed sets of brake shoes tohold the same in normal spaced relationship under all circumstances,whereby. the normal clearance of the shoes is maintained even after theintroduction of excessive slack into the rigging as the result of eithernormal or abnormal conditions.

The invention will-be described more particularly with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a view in side elevation ofa car truck equipped with the improved brake system with the adjustingrods connected to the brake shoe heads above the bottom rods. Fig. 2 isa View similar to Fig. 1 but show- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan; 12, 1915.

ing the adjusting rods placed somewhat loWer. mentary view, showing thebottom rod,adjustlng rod and shim box of the embodiment of the inventionillustrated at the left hand side of Fig. 2, parts beingbroken out alongthe broken line 33 of Fig. 4.- Fig. 4' is a v ew partly in plan of theparts shown in Fig. 3, the shim box being shown in horiaontal sectionand the shims being omitted 1n the interest of clearness, the sectionbeing taken along the plane indicated by'the line H of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 isa view in section taken on the plane indicated by the line 5.5 of Fig. 3and looking in the direction of the arrows. F ig. 6 is a detail view ona somewhat enlarged scale of'the friction clutch shown in Figs. 2 and 3,the operative parts of ghe clutch being the same" as that shown in ig.1.

The brake system is illustrated as applied in accordance with theusual'practice, toa diamond truck frame a mounted on the usual axleboxes I) throughwhich passthe axles c. On opposite frame a are suspendedpivotally hangers d,

ends of the truck Fig. 3 1s an enlarged detail fragintermediate the endsof Which are supported thebrake beam 'or brake shoe header: for theusual brake shoes f. Thesebrake shoes f coiiperate with the periphery ofthe wheel in the usual mannerand under influenc'epf applied power,-as'willhereinafter appear, and are normally maintained in.

their normal clearance positions with respect to the periphery of therespective wheels by means 'of coiled springs g Which'may -seat on anyconvenient fixed portion of the truck frame a and act on Washers dsecured to the outer ends of short rods 03 which are fixed to thehangers d. With-the brake shoes f, just described, cooperaterespectively other brakeshoes h disposed on the opposite sides of therespective wheels and arranged to engage the periphery thereofunder theinfluence of the power, hereinafter referred to, and constitute a claspbrake system of substantially the usual type,

in conjunction withthe first described set of brake shoes f. The brakeshoes h are mounted on hangers i which are pivotally supported on anyavailable portion of the truck frame a, through the intermediary of thebrake beams or brake-shoe heads k. 611 these brake beams'k may alsobesup-' ported the live levers Z, to the upper ends of 11o only one livelever.

which power may be applied from any avail-- able external source, suchas air cylinders,

etc. The lower ends of the live levers Z are connected respectively tothe hangers '03 through bottom rods m, on one end of each of which maybe arranged a series of holes m to permit initial manual adjustmentbetween the bottom rods and their respective live levers l. Each set ofopposed brakes acting on each single wheel is in every respect similarto every other set of o posed brakes. so that it will be suflicient orthe remainder of this description to refer to onlyone set of brakes,that is to say, the terms may be employed in the singularbut will beunderstood. to apply as well to corresponding elements on every otherwheel. If desired, it will be understood, a single source of power maybe connected operatively to all of the live levers but in thisdescription it will be sutlicient to consider the application of thep'ower'to the upper end of The free end of the bottom'rod m is slotted,as at m and in this slot rides a pin (i carried on the lower end of thehanger d. On the same pin d may be carried a bifurcated push rod (iwhich may cooperate with a series of shims n (shown in Fig. 3) disposedoperatively in a shim box or frame m carried on or formed'integral withthe free end of the bottom rod m. Frcm this description it will appearthat when, for reasons to be hereinafter pointed out, the pin (Z movesto the right, as viewed in the figures at the left hand end, along theslot m thus carrying with it the push rod (13 one or more shims n willbe permitted. to drop into place at the end of the push rod d and thusshift periodically the solid abut ment therefor and compensateautomatically for the movement of the push rod in the shim box m. Themovement of the pin d along the slot m is brought about by means now .tobe described. These means consist generally in an adjusting'rod .0 infree slotted connection at one end, as at 0", with the brake beam is andin slotted frictional engagement through a springpressed washer d withthe hanger cl. The washer oZ is supported on a stud which rests slidablyin a slot 0' formed in the adjacent end of the adjusting rod 0. Inoperation the slot 0 permits sufficient relative movement between theadjusting rod and the brake beam of the brake shoes h to allow thebrakes to resume their normal clearance position with respect to thewheel when the power is released, even though the friction clutch dengages the adjusting rod 0 with sul'licient stress to prevcntrelativemovement between the adjusting rod and the brake shoes 7" or hanger d;During the travel of the brake shoes to such normal. clearance position,there is no relative movement between the as e;

bottom rod m and the hanger and hence no movement of the pin (Z and pushrod (13* in the frame m During the normal application of the brakes theupper end of the live lever Z is moved tothe left, as viewed 'in Fig. 3,swinging the brake shoes it against the wheel and moving the bottom rodm to the right. This movement of the bottom rod is transmittedthrough'the frame mi'push rod d? and pin d te the hanger d, thusswinging the lower end of the latter to the right and moving the brakeshoe 7 into en gagement with tlie periphery of the wheel, against theaction of the spring 05 When the brakes are released the spring (Zserves to restore the shoes to their normal posi tion, such releasemovement, as explained before, being permitted by the slot 0 In case ofexcess travel of the upper end of the live lever during application. ofthe brakes, by reason of slack in the system, thetlc'riction clutch dwill he moved along the sl;ot

0 with respect to the adjusting rod 0, the

function of the adjusting rod being primarily to hold the brake shoes fand h in such spaced relationship as to insure normal clearance thereofwith respect to the wheel. When. the brakes are released after suchexcess travel of the iive lever, the parts will tend to resume theirusual positions and this return movement, by reason of the slack- 1n thesystem, will result in the bottom rod m moving an abnormal. distance andsense-1 quently moving with respect to the pin t l and push rod d" Aspreviously explained, when such relative movement occurs hetween thelast named parts, one or more shims, depending upon the amount of theslack, will drop mtothe shim hos m to positions behind the enclot thebifurcated push rod ti thus constituting an adjustable solid abutmenttherefor and compensating for the slack in the system.

In addition to the generally improved system described above, it is tohe noted par- 1 ticularly that the invention contemplates the employmentof the hanger in a dual pacity in that it net only supports the 'hra'lreshoes 7 and kindred parts oi the brake rigging, but in additionconstitutes a dead le- 11g ver for the entire syst u and has its upperfixed end as its fixed ilcrum during the application of the brakes.Moreover, the hanger d is arranged to oodperate with the slack take-updevices, found in the shims a, 1m

in such a Way as to permit the slack to he taken up constantly.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 2 and S issubstantially identical with that" illustrated in Fig. 1 save 55 that,in this form, the adjusting rod 0 is connected to the hanger cZ throughthe pin (Z to which the bottom .rod m issecured. In this embodiment thehanger a is of novel construction in that it is provided with esupported on a stud 2' downwardly extending arm, projecting below thepoint of union between the hanger i and the b ire beam is. The lower arm5' carries at end a spring clutch i which is adapted to slide along aslot 0 formed in the end of the adjusting rod 0, I

In the operation of the system illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 the partsfunction in substantially the same manner as in the embodimentillustrated in Fig. 1 except that excess travel of the upper end of thelive lever Z, by reason of slack in the rigging, is transmitted directlyto the bottom rod 'm through the adjusting rod 0 and pin d thus bringingabout a shifting of the bottoni rod m with respect to the pin (i andresulting movement of the push rod d whereby the shims it within theshim box m are permitted to drop down and change the abutment for saidpush rod to compensate for such slack. As before, the friction clutch 2'cooperates With the adjusting rod 0 to maintain the brake shoes 7 and hin spaced relationship. In this form of the invention all of theadvantages pointed out with respect to the form shown in Fig. l arerealized in that the brake system is improved generally, is renderedcomparatively simple in construction, is eiiicient in operation andreadily adjustable to meet varying conditions of use. Moreover, thehanger d is utilized in this form as a support for part of the brakerigging and also as a dead lever about which the brake system may move.

Modifications in construction will suggest themselves to those skilledin the art,-but all such modifications are to be deemed Within the scopeof this invention so long as they are concerned with improvements inslack adjuster systems for clasp brakes and fall Within the scope andspirit of the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

In a brake system, the combination of clasp brake shoes to co-act atdiflerent points with the tread of the Wheel, a live lever to controlthe movement thereof, a dead lever to support one of the brake shoes,slack adjusting means supported by the brake rigging and including aframe having slots therein, a pin carried by the dead lever and disposedmovably in said slots, a slide secured to said pin and adapted to engageoperatively a portion of'said frame to move the brake shoes, and shimsmounted in the frame and arranged to shift successively to fill thespace between the end of the slide and the frame as slack is taken up.

This specification signed and witnessed this 9th day of May A. D. 1914:.

WILLIAM H. SAUVAGE.

Signed inthe presence of ELLA J. KRUGER, WORTHINGTON CAMPBELL.

